By Amy Pelz – NABA Pro Figure Competitor
It’s already been one month since I’ve competed in my first figure competition. My how time flies! Returning back to my balanced lifestyle was a lot tougher than I thought it would be. I have a tendency to go off the deep end when I’m deprived of something for too long. I had a feeling that was going to happen. As soon as I walked off that stage, my self control went out the window. That first week, I ate what I wanted and didn’t workout at all. I didn’t eat every meal out, but yes, some were out. My poor stomach didn’t know what to expect. I don’t think it knew how to react since I had been “cleaning it out” for so long.
I suppose I didn’t take adding calories back as serious as I should have. My stomach paid the price. I was literally bloated for a week. The feeling absolutely killed me. I just dove right in and gained 8 pounds. I’m definitely feeling it in my workouts. I feel heavier and I have more jiggle to me. Not fun!
I have been incredibly excited to get back to my normal routine. I’m now working out once a day instead of twice. I like being able to workout and not worry about how many calories I’m burning or how much I’m lifting.
Although the thought of keeping track of how much I’m lifting is starting to creep back into my mind. Don’t get me wrong, preparation for this show paid off. In retrospect, it was only 3 months of my life which was a small price to pay for a big win!
I think that once you’ve competed, you are so tightly wound that when you are done keeping track of everything just becomes normal. It makes you more aware of every small detail. Looking back, I’m grateful that I made the decision to compete. In a way, it’s a celebration of eating clean and living a fit lifestyle.
On the other hand, you don’t realize how difficult it is to really begin and maintain balance until you are out of the game for a while. When your life is so strict, I think it’s not easy to break those habits of measuring your food. I still do this. Some people might call it crazy, but I like knowing what an actual serving of food is. It’s how much I should be eating.
I have some small fitness goals for myself. I would like to add on some more muscle just for kicks while still maintaining my leanness. I like seeing the many possibilities of who I can be and what I can make of myself physically. Staying physically strong remains priority also.
Ultimately, throughout this whole process I’ve learned that I just want to be healthy. I may think about competing again if I get the itch. For now, just being able to eat a wide variety of foods makes me a very happy girl.
Until next month…